Newark man accused of stealing more than $800 in baby formula from Wal-Mart in Watchung

A Newark man has been charged with shoplifting more than $800 worth of baby formula from a Wal-Mart in Watchung. Above is a March 2006 file photo of a baby being fed with a bottle. Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal

WATCHUNG — A Newark man has been accused of shoplifting more than $800 worth of baby formula on Monday from a Wal-Mart in Watchung, court documents state.

Altawon Peterson, 22, and a second unidentified suspect allegedly placed the formula in a shopping cart and left the store without paying, according to an affidavit filed on Tuesday in Superior Court in Somerville.

A Watchung police officer responded to the Wal-Mart in the Watchung Square Mall at about 7:30 p.m. for a report of two shoplifters who fled on foot, authorities said.

A Wal-Mart loss prevention officer provided a description of the two shoplifters and said they had stolen containers of baby formula valued at $811.47, the affidavit states. Another police officer later found the suspects behind a nearby Stop & Shop, authorities said.

Peterson was then arrested, but the second suspect fled and was never found, the affidavit states.

At police headquarters, Peterson told authorities that “his friend, ‘Hardy,’ was the one that loaded the shopping cart full of formula and that he only exited the store with his friend,” according to the affidavit.

Peterson was sent to the Somerset County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.